A total of eight teams of three or four speed skaters could qualify for this team event. The top 6 of the 2013–14 ISU Speed Skating World Cup – Women's team pursuit standings after the World Cup race in Berlin secured a spot in the Olympics. Of the teams outside the top six, the United States and Norway qualified based on the time ranking. Russia would still have qualified as hosts if they had failed to make the list, but their sixth place in the World Cup standings secured a spot outright. A reserve list was also made.[3]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.